From an e-mail "discussion" I'm having with a friend of mine, an Indiana-born-and-bred Yankee fan now living in Illinois. We always talk baseball, often taking different sides for the sake of discussion. We don't disagree, however, that baseball commissioner Bud Selig is an idiot or Barry Bonds is an asshole; they are. But he loves the Yankees and I hate them.

No, the Yankees are not a Cinderella story. Not after winning three in a row and four of five. Was Duke a Cinderella story just because it hadn't won in a couple of years? No, because they were a No. 1 seed. Despite the regular season numbers, the Yankees were still favored by many to win the AL pennant. Not a Cinderella story. If New York was to have a Cinderella story in baseball after the terrorist attacks, the Mets would've succeeded in their unlikely run to the pennant, defeated the Braves, Astros and D'Backs, and faced the Yankees in the Series. Now THAT'S a Cinderella story. The Yankees can never be Cinderella in New York because they've made sure that spot's reserved for the Mets. It's the Yankees' ball, and the Mets just crash it when they're good enough.

The Yankees are the white-collar workers, wearing the pinstriped suits and all (always have been, that's not a new analogy). The Mets are the blue-collar workers, the ones who work with what they've got and can't (or don't) just go out and buy everything they need. They make do, and it pays off every once in a while, just not annually. The Yankees can have only one title, not both: they're champions; the Mets are Cinderellas.

You want to root for Cinderella? Root for the little guy who has to scrap his way to the top, fight it out for a starting spot, and just does his job and performs when asked. Root for Craig Counsell! I will be!

Go D'Backs!